Last week, while grabbing coffee in Brooklyn a friend randomly asked the question - does "writing culture" still have deep value given there is so much noise and everyone has an opinion and cancel culture veers is ugly head into most things. To contemplate that, we sat down in HQ and came up with 5 reasons why you should write on Odyssey:
1. A Democratic alternative to "News": The beautiful thing about writing is its fundamentally democratic nature - anyone can write and convey their idea or insight or finding. Plus, anyone can read it. You don't have to have special access to consume it. In the time you spend scanning TikTok or Instagram, you learn so much more from reading - fueling your curiosity and leveling you up for "free". Thoughts are powerful. We love authentic pieces that don’t feel A/B tested to infinity. Einstein worked out relativity with pure thought experiments - most times we don't need an A/B test to change some headline copy and convey good ideas.
2. The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. We need to be both thinkers and doers. If you did or heard something cool, write about it. If you think something cool should happen, share it. Soon, we will introduce a feature that facilitates constructive discourse. Certain articles will be opened up to discussion from invited creators. Our goal is to let you test your ideas in a supportive community - that helps action.
3. The KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly) principle: Information abundance has turned online media into a sort of animal where confusion often reigns supreme in the form of cherry-picking or misinformation. A lot sounds as if it makes sense, but does it? In linguistics, Escher sentences are sentences which initially seem acceptable but upon further reflection have no well-formed meaning. So much of media can be this.
Conveying information is a systematic process. Write on Odyssey about anything you want - academic, fiction writing, student life, articles on topics like traveling, food, culture, human/animal rights, interpersonal relationships as long as it abides with our terms. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. And simple writing can simply be the best.
4. How writing on Odyssey changes lives? What does writing a 100 articles on Odyssey feel like? And how can it help people find their voice. Writing here can be challenging yet rewarding. Yet writing here makes you understand journalism isn't a shrinking industry - its changing.
5. Consensus can often be just another way of saying average. A good quote from Naval. We don't have to all be retweeters, re-pinners, likers or dislikers to show our endorsements or denouncement. Your unique voice is not necessarily raw material for consensus. This is why.. and where... your voice matters. Creativity is unique and loves to be individual. Here's how to be a creator. Be Heard. Right here on Odyssey.
